Blessings that comes from serving

 I have found that the blessings that come from getting outside of ourselves to serve those around us far out weigh the sacrifice that is required to do so. It goes against our very nature to serve others when we are struggling ourselves, yet there's a reason why both of the great commandments talk about love. Love requires effort, sacrifice, and thinking about the other ahead of yourself, and going against the natural man that is inside of each of us. 

I didn't start to learn this lesson on how to truly love others until almost two years ago when I was called to be the compassionate service leader in my ward while I was very sick and was in the process of figuring out why I kept passing out. I was determined that every sister in the ward would know that I loved them and I would get to know the needs that each sister had so I got to work. I to this day don't know if the service i gave and the visits and texts I made a difference in the lives I was trying to serve but it made a difference in mine. 

I was given power that I know came because I was forcing myself to get outside of myself and serve. Somehow I was able to keep going to work which is a miracle in itself when I think about everything that was going on. I was finally led to the right doctor who though many tests, time on his part, and a determination that he was going to get to the bottom of things found the answer to what was going on. He found that I had 15 tumors in my ovaries and at least half were cancerous. But because of them finding the cancer so early on I was fine after they were removed and I healed from the infection that happened due to the surgery. I was finally healthy after years of struggles with my health. As my hormones got stable my depression started to get better. Somehow God blessed me because I was focused on his children at a time that I was struggling so much myself. I know that God will bless us as we serve his children around us. So if you are struggling get outside of yourself and serve someone else I promise you will be helping yourself in the process every time.